


Break My Bones (Mend My Soul)

by Jack_Wilder



Category: Welcome to the Punch (2013)
Genre: M/M, Violence, cursing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-06
Updated: 2019-06-06
Packaged: 2020-04-11 22:30:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,300
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19118998
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jack_Wilder/pseuds/Jack_Wilder
Summary: Jake hurts Max and later regrets it.





	Break My Bones (Mend My Soul)

**Author's Note:**

> My birthday is in a few days. So, this is an early birthday present from me to you all!!! :)
> 
> I hope you enjoy it.
> 
> Y'all should know the drill by now: If you see any errors, POLITELY point them out to me.
> 
> I DO NOT own any of the characters in the fic below. This is written purely for the enjoyment of the writer and the reader. No profit is being made from this or any of my other works.

Neither can remember what started the fight, they only knew that they were both taking great pleasure in beating the shit out of each other. 

Jake had a cut above his right eyebrow with a steady flow of blood dripping down his face, his lip was split, and he was sporting a nasty bruise on his left cheek bone courtesy of Max Lewinsky.

Max himself did not look so good either, as a black eye was starting to form, his cheek was bleeding from when Jake had back handed him across his face and his ribs felt tender, but they were still circling each other in the destroyed living room. The couch and arm chairs were turned over, the coffee table was flipped over on its side.

Both men watched each other for an opening. Seeking just one slight weakness, one small slip up by the other so that they would have the advantage in their all-out brawl.

Max was paying such close attention to Jake that he was not aware of the raised end of the carpet and caught his foot on it tripping over it, he went down hard, landing on his back, all the air knocked out of his lungs and Jake pounced immediately.

Straddling Max’s waist, Jake grabbed hold of the collar of his sweater and punched him across his jaw, before Max headbutted him in retaliation and pushed him off.

Jake, however, was not done with Max as he immediately sprung to his feet.

Neither Max nor Jake can remember what started the argument or who threw the first punch  _but_ , they both knew  _what_ stopped it.

Max was on the floor on his back, glaring up at Jacob with hatred in his blue eyes and Jacob was glaring back with just as much hatred when he did the unthinkable. He raised his foot and Max knew what he was about to do, the hatred in his eyes turning into pure fear.

"Jake, no-"

Jake finally happy to see that the other man was afraid of him. Afraid of the fact that he was bigger, stronger and in tip-top working condition slammed his boot down on Max's crippled knee with no remorse.

White hot searing pain tore through Max’s entire being and he  _howled_  in pain. Grabbing his knee, Max held on to it for dear life as he writhed on the floor in pure agony. The pain was not receding as he laid there on the cold, hardwood floor, tears running down his face, heaving in large breaths of air as it felt like his knee was being stabbed with a red-hot fire poker.

Jacob watched him with an impassive expression, not the least bit guilty about how much pain he just caused the younger man.

"Watch yourself Lewinsky, because next time I won't just stop at your knee."

Max paid him no mind as Jake went to the only bedroom in the cabin they were currently staying at and slammed the door shut. He was in too much pain to do anything but lay on the floor and breathe as deeply as he could, to get through the knife sharp pains shooting through his knee.

He had no idea how long he laid there on the floor, but when he could move without the pain paralyzing him, Max slowly lifted his head and saw that the sky was already dark. He slowly sat up, his sweater soaked with sweat and his skin clammy with it. He felt dizzy and nauseous from the pain that had only dulled the smallest amount. 

Max attempted to stand, only to collapse back on the floor, muffling his cries of pain by biting down on his sweater sleeve. Unable to stand on his own, Max instead dragged himself across the fortunately short distance to the kitchen, where he grabbed hold of the fridge door and handle and used it to pull himself to a standing position.

Leaning heavily against the fridge, Max opened the freezer door and took out a tray of ice, before sliding back down to the floor. Not caring that his hands and fingers were going to become numb, Max took out some of the ice cubes, pulled up his pants leg and placed the ice directly on his already badly discoloured leg. He hissed both in pain and from the freezing cold. 

* * *

Jake laid by himself in the big bed, the  _only_ bed in the cabin that he and Max had been sharing since the first night they had arrived two weeks ago. He stared at the ceiling thinking back on their argument, regretting the extent to which he had hurt Max. 

When Max failed to return to their bed that night, Jake assumed that he was sleeping on the couch and he knew how uncomfortable that couch could be to sleep on. Resigned to the fact that he needed to offer an olive branch, Jake got out of bed and went to the living room to collect his bed mate.

Walking out into the living room, Jake saw that the place was still trashed, and the couch was still on its side. That raised alarm bells in his head and there only being one other place in the cabin that Max could be at this time of night, Jacob hurried towards it.

When he rounded the corner, he saw Max seated on the kitchen floor with his back braced against the low cupboards and ice on his knee. However, what alarmed him was Max's pale, sweaty form.

"Max?"

The man barely responded to his name being called.

"Shit." Jake hurried to his side, and crouched down, shaking his shoulder. "Max!"

"Hmm."

Jake looked down at his knee and saw that it was an ugly shade of black and blue. He cupped Max's face, trying to get him to open his eyes.

"Max, can you open your eyes for me?"

No response.

"Max,” Jake lightly tapped his cheek. “Come on mate, open your eyes for me. Let me see those blue eyes."

Max finally crack open an eye. "Jake?" His voice weak.

"Yeah, mate, it's Jake. How are you feeling?"

Max's eyes were unfocused, and his words were slurring. "Hurt..." he licked his dry cracked lips, "you hurt me again."

Jake's mind was racing; did really hurting Max's already injured knee result in him being basically conscious.

"I know and I am sorry. Apart from your knee is anywhere else hurting?"

Max shook his head, "but I feel nauseous and dizzy. My knee feels as if it is on fire."

Jake looked at his companion and after a few minutes of deliberating, he stood, leaving the kitchen and disappearing into the bedroom where he got dressed and grabbed the thickest blanket he could find. Returning to the kitchen, he wrapped the blanket around Max, and the carefully wrapped an arm around his back and under his knees. Gently as possible, he stood, holding Max who whimpered in pain close to his chest.

"What are you doing?" The question was slurred, and Jake was beyond worrying.

"We are going to get you some help." Jacob said, walking towards the front door and out of the cabin, glad that it was not snowing as this would make the trip a lot less painful.

"I don't want to lose my leg Jake." 

He heard the tears in Max's voice and felt sick with himself that he had put the man in this situation  _again_.

"You are not going to lose your leg. I promise you."

"Don't make promises you can't keep." Max replied before going worryingly silent.

Jake glanced down at him, his eyes closed, dark eyelashes against extremely pale skin and he felt his heart rate increase from fear. He jostled the injured man a little, trying to get him to wake up.

"Open your eyes Max, you are _not_ allowed to sleep."

"Fuck you, Sternwood." Even in pain Max sounded irritated but he opened his eyes. "I am tired."

"I know, and you can sleep all you want  _after_  you have been checked out, but for now, I need you to keep your eyes open." Jake got Max situated in the backseat of his truck, making sure that he was warm and comfortable. "Can you do that for me.?"

"How?" Max's eyes slip close again. "I am so fucking tired."

"Oi," Jake tapped him on his cheek again until he reopened them, "keep them open." He rounded the truck and got in the driver's seat. "Talk to me."

"Talk about what?" Max was definitely irritated.

Jake took his irritation as a good sign. If Max had enough strength to be irritated at continuously be woken, then they might both survive this. He backed out of the driveway and began driving up the private road that led to the main road before answering.

"Anything, just something to keep you awake."

There was mumbling from the backseat with a few curse words thrown in the mix.

" _The Little Mermaid_  made no fucking sense."

Jake glanced at him in the rear-view mirror, not really what he expected, but if it did the job then he was not going to complain. "Tell me why it made no sense." He encouraged.

For the half an hour drive it took to get to the hospital, Max ranted about why the movie was shit, with the major argument being that Ariel could read and write to sign the contract that provided her with legs, but did not think of writing Eric a note telling him who she was.

Jake checked the rear-view mirror worriedly each time there was silence during Max’s rant.

"We're almost there." He declared, hoping that would give some relief to him.

"And then I can sleep."

" _After_  the doctor checks you out, then you can sleep."

"This is all your fault; I hope you know that."

Jake breathe a sigh of relief when he saw the hospital come into view and drove around to the accident and emergency entrance. Max protested being carried in, but he could not walk properly not to mention he was looking green in the face from the pain.

The automatic doors opened and the nurse at the front desk took one look at them before rushing over, calling for a gurney.

“What happened?” She asked, using her stethoscope to listen to Max’s heart as they wheeled him into the examination room.

“I fell.” Max said, not giving Jake a chance to speak.

The nurse and medical assistant looked from him to Jake and back to Max. Their eyes roamed over both men before the nurse spoke again.

“You _fell?_ ”

Jake heard the skepticism in her voice and he suddenly remembered the injuries they had given to each other during their brawl. He knew the exact picture they painted: him the taller, bigger male abusing his smaller, male lover.

Shit.

It was not a good picture.

Max seemed to know what the nurse and her assistant were thinking. “I know what it looks like and _we_ ,” he gestured between himself and Jake, his words still slurring a bit, “ _are not together_. He’s my roommate, I’m a former cop, long story short there are still some folks out there who are not happy with me.”

He gave a lopsided grin, that made him look as if he was high on drugs.

“Got my knee blown out about three years ago, by one of those unhappy folks.” Jake knew that was a deliberate stab at him and he knew he deserved it and more. “And it acts up from time to time. That’s why I fell.”

The nurse unwrapped the blanket from around Max and none too gently threw it at Jake, apparently not believing Max’s story and without any remorse sliced open his right pants leg with a pair of sharp scissors.

There were a few seconds of silence before the nurse looked up to meet Max’s eyes. “Ok, let’s try this again; what happened? You leg looked as if something _fell on it_. Something like a heavy boot clad foot.” Her gaze pointedly fell to Jake’s size 14 boots.

Max’s giggle had a touch of hysteria. “What’s your name nurse?”

“Nurse Ada.”

“Nurse Ada,” Max was now seeing two of them and had no idea of which one to look at. “I swear, I am not in an abusive relationship with this man. My past merely made a visit, that’s all.”

Nurse Ada still looked disbelieving but did not argue any further, much to the relief of both men. She and her assistant took Max’s vitals. His blood pressure was elevated, and he was given medication for the nausea. He refused any form of painkillers.

“The doctor will be with you in a few minutes.” Nurse Ada informed them. “ _Do not_ allow him to fall asleep.” Her brown eyes pierced Jake and he could see that she did not trust him at all.

The two men were then left alone, and Max grinned up at Jake.

“What?”

He giggled again, “she was about to go full Wakanadan warrior on your ass.”

Jake rolled his eyes.

Max laughed, “she looks as though she should be in the Dora Milaje, guarding the king of Wakanda and being an overall badass. She’d make a great warrior.”

Jake snorted, “I think she’s already a badass warrior in her own right.”

Nurse Ada could not have been more than five feet tall, yet she looked ready to kick Jake out of the room and his ass as well, if Max had even hinted at the slightest possibility of being abused by Jake.

The examination room door opened and in walked the doctor, a kind grandpa looking sort of man.

“Hello gentlemen, I am Dr. Feeny,” he introduced himself, “and I will be your doctor, Mr. Abrams.” He looked at the folder in his hands, the name ‘Louis Abrams’ on the front in bold letters. It was one of the identities that Jake had gotten for Max.

“Mr. Abrams, I understand that you were shot in your right knee and that injury led to you falling and reinjuring it.” Dr. Feeny did not say anything, but his eyes said it all. He smelt the bullshit in what was written in black and white.

“I did.” Max said slowly.

Dr. Feeny looked at both men, much in the same way Nurse Ada had. “Care to tell me how you both received those facial injuries?

Max had been a cop for fifteen years. He knew how domestic violence victims, both male and female behaved when they were being questioned with their abusers in the room. And he knew how _not_ to behave. He kept his eyes firmly on the doctor, never once looking at Jake as he spoke.

“I used to be a cop and my past came knocking.”

He did not lie. _Max lived with his past_.

Together, he and his past had exposed the corruption of the police force. His past had rescued (kidnapped) him from his death sentence. He and his past had gone on the run together and it was his past that had knocked him flat on his ass.

_There was no lie._

Dr. Feeny looked just as unconvinced as Nurse Ada but said nothing more. “Well, Mr. Abrams, your knee was severely irritated in your fall. It will have to be drained to ensure that there is no infection. You will be placed on two weeks antibiotics and five days of painkillers.” He levelled a look at Max.

“The painkillers are extremely strong and addictive. You will take two tablets twice a day until finished.”

Max nodded, knowing that he would rather grit his teeth and bear with the pain, than risk getting addicted to pain meds. There was a history of addiction in his family and he decided that was going to end with him. Those pills were being flushed.

“In the meantime,” Dr. Feeny continued speaking, “I am going to keep you overnight for your knee to be taken care of and for observation.”

“Thanks doc.” Max mumbled.

“Thank you.” Jake echoed.

Both men were silent, waiting for the door to click close before Max turned a harsh glare on Jake.

“Fuck you, you son of a bitch.” His words dripped with venom.

Jake sighed, tired himself. “Max, please don’t start. I am tired and you are in pain.”

“Because of you.”

“For which I am sorry.”

Max raised an eyebrow, “are you really?”

“The fuck does that mean?”

“It means that you looked rather happy when you slammed your fucking foot down on my knee!” Max shouted, just as Nurse Ada walked back into the room, hearing the tail end of his outburst.

Both Max and Jake looked like deer caught in the headlights of a scary woman.

“I admit to nothing.” Max suddenly said, his face the epitome of stubbornness and Nurse Ada sighed.

“The medical assistant will be by to take you to your room in a short while.”

“Thank you.” Max said, wanting the building pressure in his knee to be relieved.

Ten minutes later found Max in a private hospital room with a needle in his knee steadily draining the built-up fluid. Max laid back in the bed, staring up at the ceiling, his nausea had abated, but his anger was still burning hot.

“You are so fucking lucky that they did not have to operate on my knee.”

Jake looked up from where he laid stretched out on the couch in the room. “And what could you have possibly done if that were the case?” He snorted, “I would be one looking after your bedridden ass. Fuck, it’s me who is going to be waiting on you hand and foot considering the doctor told you to stay off it for a week. So, shut the hell up and _stop_ pissing me off.”

Max smiled a cruel smile as he spoke, “I can see why they would think that you are abusing me. You are such an asshole.”

“I should have killed you that night in the tunnel.”

Jake’s admission was like a gunshot. The room was deadly silent.

“And I should have killed you that night in the container yard.” Max said quietly.

“Why didn’t you?”

There was a long stretch of silence that Jake thought Max was not going to answer him until he did.

“Because you had the chance to kill me twice and you didn’t. Figured I owed you the same courtesy.”

Jake was not expecting that answer but accepted it anyway. “Thank you for that.”

“Go to hell Sternwood.”

“Go to sleep Lewinsky. I need peace and quiet to think.”

“Think about what?”

“Where we are going after this.” He looked at Max who was now staring at him from the bed. “We can’t stay here; not after this.”

“Shit.”

“My sentiments exact.”

“Your fault exact.”

“Do not start again Max. It’s going to be hard enough getting out with you out of commission, I do not need your fucking shit attitude as well.”

Max was quiet at that, quiet for too long that Jake thought he had fallen asleep.

“Hong Kong does not have any extradition treaties with any country.”

Jake raise an eyebrow. “You want to go to Hong Kong?”

“Never been. Wouldn’t mind seeing it.” He admitted softly.

“I will see what I can do. Now go to sleep. You were complaining that you wanted to sleep.”

“Don’t tell me what to do Sternwood.” Max growled. “Hey, if we fight again like we did tonight, I will kill you.”

Jake scoffed, “yeah, and I would love to see how long you survive afterwards. You need me.”

Max closed his eyes, finally settling down to do as instructed. “Yeah, we’ll see.”

 

**_End._ **


End file.
